The fun of country living AKA our frozen well pit

[th3w01f]

We knew it was going to get cold last night so we ran a long extension cord with a heat lamp into the well put and put the top back on. Woke up this morning to no water and the light is off... circuit popped. Nothing is obviously cracked and there is no water in the pit but I' not sure where to even start with thawing this thing out. I put a propane heater down there for now but nothing yet.

Anyone have an idea where I should focus my attention with a heat gun or propane torch? It's a mix of copper and PVC down there but I'm not sure what's going where.

We have the added benefit of radiant heat so this should be a fun day.

[StagLefty]

Any exposed piping ? That's the place to start.

[buffalobo]

Check to be sure not frozen else where also.

Unless you know where frozen, target every thing, watch and inspect pvc closely.

In well pit, heat tape and insulation are your friend.

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[th3w01f]

I'm not sure how to tell if the well pump has power. Should it well on/off be wired to a breaker somewhere nearby?

[crashdown]

Have you thought about going back to city living?
You do need to make sure your well pump is not pumping, it will burn up pretty quick if is pushing against a frozen pipe.

[th3w01f]

At times like this it sounds nice to go back. ;-)

I turned the pump off this morning but no telling how long it ran after freezing up. Or maybe it just doesn't have any power to it and nothing is frozen. Could really go either way at this point.

[buffalobo]

At times like this it sounds nice to go back. ;-)

I turned the pump off this morning but no telling how long it ran after freezing up. Or maybe it just doesn't have any power to it and nothing is frozen. Could really go either way at this point.

Should have some sort of overload protection at disconnect point.

Meter/test time.

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[th3w01f]

Checked the breaker and the overload protection next to the on/off and everything looks good. Got a call back from Hier and he gave me a couple things to test and said to call back and he'd come out. Now I can't get a hold of him. I think he may have thought I had his cell phone number and not the main business line. Anyone have an emergency contact at Hier? I think it was Frank that called me.

[th3w01f]

And we have water again. Not sure what fixed it. I set up the Mr Heater on a 20lb tank, removed and reinserted the fuses and now there's water. Hmmmmmm. Only about 20 min after setting the heater up so that sounds a bit quick.

[Great-Kazoo]

And we have water again. Not sure what fixed it. I set up the Mr Heater on a 20lb tank, removed and reinserted the fuses and now there's water. Hmmmmmm. Only about 20 min after setting the heater up so that sounds a bit quick.

Having water doesn't mean the problem is fixed.